Cluster-liquid transition in finite, saturated fermionic systems

Abstract

The role of saturation for cluster formation in atomic nuclei is analyzed by considering three length-scale ratios and performing deformation-constrained self-consistent mean-field calculations. The effect of clusterization in deformed light systems is related to the saturation property of the internucleon interaction. The formation of clusters at low nucleon density is illustrated by expanding the radius of $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ in a constrained calculation. A phase diagram shows that the formation of clusters can be interpreted as a hybrid state between the crystal and the liquid phases. In the hybrid cluster phase the confining potential attenuates the delocalization generated by the effective nuclear interaction.